A student I know recently received a failing grade due to use of tech-provided answers to an assignment. Admittedly AI ignorant, I delved into the subject. 

Not long ago, artificial intelligence belonged to science fiction. Robots were movie villains, and talking computers lived only in novels. 

Yet here we are: AI now suggests what show we should watch, helps doctors read X-rays, and even writes news articles like this one. What once felt like a futuristic dream — or nightmare — is quietly woven into our daily lives.

The question we face today is not whether AI is coming. It’s already here. The real question is: what kind of role should it play in our world?

At its best, AI has enormous promise. It can help scientists discover new medicines, make cars safer, and even give teachers extra tools to support students.

 Artists and writers are experimenting with it, too — sometimes as a paintbrush, sometimes as a sparring partner for new ideas.

But the risks are just as real. Because AI learns from us — our conversations, our history, our habits — it can also pick up our flaws and biases. 

Left unchecked, it could spread unfairness or misinformation faster than we can catch it. And as companies and governments race to control this technology, the decisions about how it’s used may not always reflect the public’s best interests.

That’s why the conversation about AI cannot be left to scientists and tech companies alone. It belongs to all of us.

How do we want these systems to be used? What guardrails should exist? And most importantly: how do we ensure that the technology serves people, not the other way around?

AI is not a force of nature; it’s a human invention. Like the printing press or electricity, it will reshape society — but how it does so depends on the choices we make today. If we guide it wisely, AI could expand opportunity and creativity. If we don’t, it could deepen divides.

The future of AI is, in the end, a mirror. It reflects not just our intelligence, but our values. 

Deciding what we want to see in that reflection is one of the most important challenges of our time.

That’s all I’ve to say at this point. Actually from the second paragraph to this one I didn’t say it — AI did in a 70-seconds response to my question about its future. 

A marvel, yet makes me skittish.